My Story
If there is only one glass bottle of garbage every year, can it be done?
H&M, Zara, Uniqlo, GU, SPAO, etc…. We got a lot shops in a mall that we can buy clothes from. Or even online websites such as Zalora, ASOS, SHEIN, SSENSE, NET-A-PORTER ,etc. We can purchase trendy but cheap clothes more easily than before.
Information Station
Garment industry is one of the major threats to the planet. Data shows that sales of clothes has been doubled while the average lifetime has dropped since 2000 (Mulhern,2021).
Have you ever…Bought clothes not fit for you but it is non-refundable or non-returnable?
Bought clothes that are perfect design but in wrong size ?
Gotten textiles with pretty pattern but it is worn out ?
Found it is difficult to get a perfect design of clothing/ pillow cover/ tote bag/ bed mattress or sandwich bag, etc.
I dare not say that I am advocating environmental protection. There are still opportunities to create garbage and waste in daily life, but I can be friendly to the environment within my ability. Reuse existing items, come up with new uses creatively, and avoid impulse purchases of unnecessary items. Improve environmental awareness and reduce the amount of garbage, continue to deliver actions that are more friendly to the environment, and start a minimalist and zero-waste conscious life.
Information Station
In 2018, less than 15% of textiles generation have been recycle while the rest (around 13 million tons) were discarded in landfills or burned (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2020)
Other than recycling, there’s something we can do at home to better utilise the resource we have - Upcycling.
Upcycling, by definition, refers to the process of converting unwanted materials to useful or valuable things. (Yi, Lee, Lee & Kim, 2019).
In fact, SEWING can help!
Friendly to the environment, giving old clothes a new chance
After wardrobe decluttering, reduce unnecessary and unsuitable clothes, and keep only the styles that you can actually wear. At first, it is to make life easier, and gradually pay attention to environmental protection issues, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Repair, Repurpose.
Even if the item is no longer needed, it can be converted into another form, upcycling. We can buy and sell second-hand clothes, donate and remake. After removing the stitches, old clothes turn to be a fabrics with no specific usage. It can be a tote bag, hair accessories, dish-cloth, towels, plant holder, etc.
For the time being, I took out old clothes and practiced stitching, learned about the structure of ready-made clothes, and made several small sewing works. The goal is to transform clothes, and then I will challenge myself to sew clothes that I can wear and feel beautiful things.
This platform is an inspirational & informative community where both of us can share sewing skills, spread the concept of upcycling unfit or damaged clothes to useful products and encourage others to utilize the textile they have.
The most important thing is to understand your needs, find a way of life that suits you, learn to reuse existing items is the way to care for the environment and show your insistence on environmental protection.
There may be some items that no one cares about whether they are given away or sold at a low price. As long as you do your best, you don’t have to blame yourself too much when these items end up being discarded. If there are no substitutes at home, you can choose high-quality items and use them for a long time to reduce wastage and waste. Starting from remodeling old clothes, learning more about an environmentally friendly lifestyle with an open mind, in addition to practicing my sewing skills.
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